A Vulcan Christmas
by Theelusivefanboy
Summary: (Ok so this is going to cliche as hell but I'm writing it for a Secret Santa thing I'm participating in so that's my excuse.) Spock, with a little help from his friend(s), re-learns how to celebrate Christmas. Also: Klingons.
1. Chapter 1

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant (25__th__ December 2267):_

Spock sits alone at a table in the corner of the Mess Hall; around him his colleagues are singing and talking amongst themselves and the room is decked out in various multicoloured and shimmering lights and decorations. In another corner of the room an enormous tree has been erected and below it lays many garishly wrapped gifts.

Spock is there only because Jim insisted that he attend and Spock would never disobey his Captain... no matter how illogical he was being. He does not see why he has to be there as he does not celebrate Christmas as they do. To Spock, and countless other Vulcans, 25th December was merely one more day of the year.

The Captain himself is over on the other side of the room, chatting with his fellow Starfleet officers. He is still wearing his official captain's uniform, but he has sportingly opted to wear a bright red Santa hat which is currently sitting lopsided upon his head. One of the ensigns appears to make a joke as the Captain and the others standing nearby burst out into raucous laughter that Spock can quite clearly hear from his position.

Spock lets out a slight exhalation of air through his closed mouth and glances back down to the report he was reading on his PADD. He doesn't have much time to read any further however as he senses someone approaching.

Spock glances up as the Captain approaches his table, weaving his way through the crew with a mug of 'egg-nog' held aloft in his hand. "Spock" he shouts out gleefully, "what're you doing way over here by yourself?"

"Captain", Spock inclines his head at the captain, "you are well aware that I have no interest in participating with the celebrations on this day, nor indeed on any other day."

Kirk loses his boyish grin and implores "but Spock, it's Christmas!" his hands held out towards Spock as if begging him to agree.

"I am well aware of what this date corresponds to amongst humans Captain."

Kirk sighs exasperatedly and takes a seat next to Spock at the table, finally placing his mug down which almost topples over in the process. "Spock," he lowers his voice marginally "I had hoped that you, out of all of the Vulcans, would have a better understanding of what Christmas is all about."

Spock lifts an eyebrow and inquires "Why would I, of all the other Vulcans, have a... _better_ understanding of this?"

"Well, because..." splutters Kirk, "you're half human! Surely your mother used to celebrate Christmas with you!"

"I grew up on Vulcan," states Spock "and furthermore my Mother was well aware that I did not follow the majority of the more common human customs and as such did not wish to celebrate Christmas with her"

Kirk seems almost heartbroken as he stares at Spock beseechingly "But..." he splutters as he attempts think of understand his friend's words. "Hanukkah! Did she celebrate Hanukkah?"

"No Captain my Mother did not celebrate Hanukkah... and before you ask: no she did not celebrate any of the other similar seasonal celebrations either."

"You two never celebrated anything like Christmas together, ever?" Kirk inquires dejectedly.

"Never, Captain" replies Spock as he reaches over to move the Captain's mug further from his arm. The Captain is clearly inebriated and even when sober he has a tendency to flail his arms about dramatically when he is trying to make a point.

"I am sorry my friend" says Kirk, looking amusedly down at his mug's new position.

"Sorry?" asks Spock "what are you sorry for Captain?"

Kirk smiles at his friend wistfully "I am sorry that you never got to experience something as magical as Christmas with your mother, like I got to do with mine. It is one of my more pleasant memories of my childhood."

Spock almost seems confused and he starts to inquire what the Captain truly means when, at that moment, Bones saunters up to the table and wraps one of his arms around the captain's shoulders.

"Jim!" he grins down at his friend and Captain "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas to you too Bones" smiles Kirk at his friend, and raises his mug in a toast towards Bones' own glass that is held precariously in his hand.

Bones turns towards Spock and says "Spock, I see you're not joining in with the party. Now isn't that a surprise (!)"

Spock inclines his head in the Doctor's direction and says "Doctor, I do believe that was sarcasm on your part. As you are well aware of, and have mentioned on numerous occasions, I am a Vulcan and as such I do not partake in these seemingly meaningless customs that you humans seem so fond of."

"Seeming meaningless?!" splutters an outraged Bones as he slips into the seat on the other side of Spock "why you green-blooded... Vulcan! As much as you like to pretend otherwise you are half human, and your mother is a full-blooded human. Surely out of respect for her you would at least consider joining in with our _silly little customs. _I think you'd find there's more meaning behind them than you'd think." He finished indignantly and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I apologise Doctor, I had not intended to offend you I was merely trying to illustrate to the Captain that I have no desire to join in with these festivities and nor have I ever done so in the past."

Jim, as he all too accustomed to doing, decides to step in before their argument gets out of hand "Gentlemen please, it's Christmas: the time when we are supposed to show good will towards all men. Can't you two just agree to disagree for once?" he pleads exasperatedly "and Spock" he turns to look at Spock as he says this "I didn't mean to pressure you into anything. If you really don't want to join in then that's fine. But... if would please me if you would at least _try _to look like you're taking part. I would like to celebrate Christmas with my closest friends, which as it turns out includes you."

Spock pauses briefly to consider his friend's words and then briefly nods his head to the Captain. "I apologise Captain. I had not realised how much this day meant to you. I will attempt to 'blend in' as it were with the others in this room."

Captain Kirk beams at Spock and clasps his shoulder, "Thank you my friend!"

The Captain and Spock rise out of their seats and make their way over towards the celebration.

"Yes," mumbles Bones behind them "thanks ever so much for deciding to _grace us _with your presence (!)"


	2. Chapter 2

_Somewhere in Shi'Kahr, Vulcan (circa 2236):_

A small Vulcan boy of roughly six years of age sits in his room, his pet Sehlat by his side, while his human mother watches from the doorway with a smile upon her face. The boy is studying from a PADD he holds in his hands, while his pet attempts to distract him. His brow is furrowed in concentration and irritation, something he undoubtedly would not show when he was older, but he is currently too young to have complete control over his emotions.

"Spock", she calls to him and he turns towards her "Yes, Mother?"

"I have something to show you" she holds her hand out towards him "come, my child".

Spock immediately stands up, placing his PADD upon the soft surface of the bed next to him, and places his small hand within hers, his Sehlat watching on curiously by his feet.

Amanda leads him through their house and down into the main room where there is a small pile of boxes in the middle of the room of various sizes and shapes. Spock gazes down at the boxes curiously and then asks her what they are.

"These," Amanda explains to him, "are my old Christmas decorations. Do you remember from your lessons what Christmas is?"

The young boy nods and says "Yes Mother, it is an annual event that the humans celebrate. The Christians used that date, the 25th of December, to remember the birth of their Messiah: Jesus Christ. Although over the centuries the celebration has evolved and is now more of a heavily commercialised event wherein the humans exchange gifts and decorate their homes. It is also of note that not all humans celebrate this event, mostly depending upon their religious beliefs and their upbringing."

"Yes," says Amanda, "all of this _is _true. However, this is not everything..." she sits down on a sofa nearby and gestures for Spock to take the spot next to her. "Come here my child, and I will tell you what _I _think Christmas is all about."

Spock comes over and sits down next to her, turning to face her and give her his undivided attention.

Amanda hesitates for a moment as to where to begin and then says "when I was a little girl, not much older than you are now, I lived with my mother and father back home on Earth. My parents were both school teachers, like myself. We had a happy and peaceful life, and I have very fond memories of those days." She smiles down at Spock and continues "some of my fondest memories were of Christmas. Every year, when the seasons changed and it grew colder and darker our household would seem to get... brighter and livelier. There would be Christmas decorations hanging from practically _everywhere_" she manages to sound both exasperated and fond "my father always would go a little overboard on the decorations, and every year I swear there were more than the last. My mother would always focus more on the buying of gifts for friends and family, and she would also frequently sing along to the Christmas music that would be almost constantly playing throughout December."

At this point Spock interrupts her to inquire "what sort of music would they listen to Mother?"

"Oh," replies Amanda, "all sorts of music! There would be the traditional Christmas songs and hymns of course, and also the more contemporary and popular Christmas-themed songs. Everyone had different preferences over what to listen to at Christmas. I must admit that I myself preferred the more traditional songs, and some of the hymns... Would you like to listen to them later? I could play some of my favourites for us to listen to" inquires Amanda of her son.

"Very well," replies Spock, "I am interested to learn more of this Christmas. For example: would someone celebrate Christmas if they were not a Christian and if so, why would they celebrate it?"

Amanda laughs and says "ah yes, well there are many who celebrate Christmas without any religious meaning behind it. Why do they celebrate it? Because all Humans are illogical of course, didn't you know?" She laughs again and smiles down at her son, who does not look amused but that is unsurprising. It would have been more surprising if he had shown even one trace of amusement upon his visage.

"It is just a very old tradition now among humans, and an integral part of our culture, even now when we have so many differing cultures and traditions on Earth. I know that some of the non-humans on my home planet also celebrate it now. Mostly because it is something their loves ones celebrate, and Christmas is a time to share with your loved ones after all." Amanda sighed wistfully and glanced over at the piles of boxes on the floor with a slight smile. "I do miss it so."

She looks back over towards Spock and seems to snap out of whatever memory she was reliving in her head.

"I have spoken to your father about it and he has decided that it would be a good idea if I were to introduce you to the customs that I celebrate at this time. It would be a good experience for you, to learn more about human culture, and to indulge your mother's wishes of course".

Spock nods sagely "that sounds logical".

Amanda chuckles at her son and then proceeds to move gracefully off the sofa and over towards one of the larger boxes in the room, she kneels down beside it and opens it up. "This" she starts, gesturing at the contents of the box "is the Christmas tree. It is a very old one, made of plastic, and is the very same one that used to be displayed in my child hood home every year. Many prefer, or preferred, to use real trees and procure a new one each year. However my mother always hated the mess that this would create in our living room. Also, it's not helpful to the environment to cut down so many trees every Christmas which would only be discarded come the New Year."

Amanda starts gathering the 'branches' of the tree out of the box and placing them on the floor by her feet, and then arranges them in order of size. Spock watches her actions curiously from his seat. She finishes emptying the box and sorting through the contents. "I was hoping you would help me to put up the Christmas tree and decorate it, it's traditional for families to do this together – particularly with their children". She has a hopeful look on her face as she kneels among piles of green plastic branches and addresses her son.

"Very well", Spock gets up from his seat and carefully manoeuvres around the piles, glancing at them as if trying to figure out where he is supposed to start from.

"Here", Amanda picks up two interlocking green parts that make up the base of the tree. She slots them together and then hands them to Spock. "This is the base of the tree. Why don't you place it over there in that corner? I cleared the space earlier." She gestures at an empty spot in the corner of the room closest to them.

"Very well," replies Spock and proceeds to do just as she asked. Once he's placed the base there Amanda appears next to him with the largest piece from the box. "This is the 'trunk' of the tree as it were. Itshould slot directly into the base." She hands this to him also and watches as he puts it into the slot in the base. "You have to force it in a bit I'm afraid, or it might fall out and the tree would topple over!" Spock lets out a soft grunt of exertion as he places both small hands on the piece and attempts to push it in. Seeing that Spock is struggling to push it in, Amanda reaches over and helps him with it. The piece slots into place with a soft 'click' sound.

"There we go" she smiles at him and moves over to the smaller branches "these ones should fit in easier" They proceed to finish putting up the Christmas tree together.

Later, when they have finished, they step back to look upon their creation. Before them stands a tall tree, covered in tinsel and baubles and fairy lights. Amanda seems quite pleased with the sight and Spock has to admit that it does look aesthetically pleasing.

Now they move to stand before a smaller pile of boxes, these ones are covered in Christmas themed paper. There are boxes of various shapes and sizes. Most of them have labels attached to them. Spock picks up one of the smaller boxes and reads the label out loud. "To my dearest Spock, Happy Christmas, love - your mother" He places the present back on the pile and steps closer to look at the rest of the label. There are many more presents for him, and there are also some presents with labels for Sarek, from Amanda.

"Are these also a part of the Christmas celebration Mother?" he turns to face his mother who had been watching him inspect the labels. She seemed highly amused by something, but he did not know what until she reached over and grabbed something off the top of his head. When she took her hand away she was holding a piece of silver tinsel. It must have gotten caught in his hair while they were putting it on the tree.

"Yes they are," she replies "I bought various gifts for both you and your father. Now I just have to put them under the Christmas tree."

"For what purpose do they have to be placed under the Christmas tree?" inquires Spock.

She opens her mouth to reply and then hesitates "You know... I'm not entirely sure on that part. It's just what is done. The presents are placed under the tree and remain there until Christmas Day. Upon which the family gathers around the tree and the presents are distributed to be opened by their recipients."

"We must wait until Christmas Day to open the presents?" For a moment Amanda thought he very much resembled a typical human boy whining that he had to wait to open his presents. Chuckling slightly she informed him that that was a very important part of the tradition as everyone had to be together for the opening of the presents, and that they were supposed to spend Christmas Day together as a family.

"Very well," replies Spock "we shall wait until Christmas Day to distribute the presents, as according to human tradition"


	3. Chapter 3

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant (25__th__ December 2267):_

Captain Kirk stands in the middle of a small crowd of Starfleet officers, all of whom are hanging on to his every word, which is not particularly unusual as he is the Captain and generally has quite a presence in the room. Especially when he is inebriated and wearing a bright red Santa hat upon his head.

"And then he said... a croaking device!" exclaims an almost breathless Kirk who doubles over in laughter, with bright red cheeks and clutching his midriff as if in pain.

All the assembled officers burst out laughing as well, except for Spock who simply watches them fascinated at the social interactions occurring around him. Since the moment they had joined the group amassed in the middle of the mess hall, the Captain had been telling jokes and stories to the all those in the vicinity. At one point he and Bones had also entertained them all with a joyful duet of 'Good King Wenceslas', which had surprised most of them as they had not been previously aware of the good Doctor's excellent tenor vocals.

The Captain glances at his watch and straightens himself back up; clapping his hands together he gathers back the attention of the party-goers who look at him expectantly.

"I do believe it is time for the gifts" exclaims an obviously excited Kirk, beaming from ear to ear and acting much like a Klingon standing in the world's largest armoury. His words seem to have a similar impact upon the others many of whom are now also grinning and moving over towards the Christmas tree which has been mostly ignored all day, everyone having already deposited gifts under it during the previous few weeks.

It does not contain gifts for all of the crewmembers. If they had all been in attendance there would have been far too many people in the room and far too many gifts under the tree to even fit under there. The ship is currently running a skeleton crew as many of the officers had requested shore leave for the holiday and are now currently celebrating amongst friends and family on nearby planets.

The ones who have stayed behind are the ones necessary to keep the ship running, which includes a lot of the engineering crew, the Doctor, the Captain, and the second in command Spock. Chekov and Sulu are amongst those that are not currently onboard; however Uhura and Scotty are still on board. Uhura was sitting at a table in the far side of the mess hall with a few of the ensigns, but upon the Captain's words has made her way to rest of the group with the ensigns trailing along behind her.

Scotty had been in attendance earlier but he had slipped out of the room once everyone had become inebriated enough to not notice his absence, and he was currently back down in the engineering section of the ship doing what he loved the most. He had even decorated the consoles with tinsel and fairy lights. He may or may not have also bought a present for the ship, and he may or may not currently be lovingly undoing the bright red ribbon on it whilst cooing softly at the warp core.

Back in the mess hall everyone has gathered around the Christmas tree, and the Captain has volunteered to be the first to select a gift to give out. He is currently on one knee down by the pile of gifts rooting around the various boxes and packages to find what he is looking for.

"Aha!" he crows triumphantly like a badly scripted soap opera actor and lifts the gift out of the pile. It is a relatively small, and thin, box wrapped in silver wrapping paper and without a bow. On the gift there are two labels, one of which says FRAGILE in bright red letters and the other says Bones.

The Captain stands up and walks over to the Doctor presenting him with his gift at which Bones smiles warmly at him and says with a flamboyant flair to his words "why Jim, you shouldn't have!"

Kirk laughs good-naturedly at his friend and says impatiently "well come on then, open it already!"

"All right all right, hold your horses." He rips open the side of the box to reveal some cardboard but not clue as to what the gift is yet. Intrigued he rips off the rest of the wrapping and laughs delightedly upon realising that he is holding in his hands an expensive bottle of single malt Whisky.

"I don't believe it," says Bones, "I didn't know they even sold this anymore." He turns the bottle around in his hands to stare at the label.

"They don't!" exclaims Kirk triumphantly "Not really. Someone had some very old casks of the stuff stored away for about 50 years. They took good care of the stuff and bottled some off to sell recently. Only a small handful of bottles were put up for sale. I managed to snag one of them for you."

"Why... Jim... I... thank you. I almost don't want to open it! I think I'd have to save it for a special event" says Bones.

"Aw come on Bones, I bought it for you to enjoy. Not so that you could put it back into storage! Come on, tomorrow you and me can open it up and try it" says Kirk to Bones imploringly.

"Oh all right," agrees Bones, "it's not like it would take much to convince me. I can't wait to try this out. I've never tried once this old before. I've only ever had one that was about 30 years old before."

"Excellent, my friend!" Kirk beams at Bones, and turns to face the rest of the crewmembers. "Right then, who's next?"

Nurse Chapel steps forward from the crowd and states that she would like to give a present out now. Kirk bows her onwards his a long sweep of his arm towards the tree. She moves over to the tree, kneels down next to the gifts, and rummages around for a moment before standing up holding a relatively thing box in her hands. The box is a thin rectangle shape and is covered in silver wrapping paper, with a matching silver bow around it.

She turns to face the crowd, her head down staring at the box that is grasped tightly with both of her hands, a soft pink flush across her cheeks. She takes a deep breath and utters one word, "Spock", which causes Captain Kirk to grin and many other crewmembers to stifle their laughter. Kirk thought he really should have expected this. All eyes in the room start searching for the elusive Science Officer, who is currently standing at the outermost side of the crowd of officers. They part to each side when they realise he is there, allowing him room to move forwards, and further attracting attention of the rest of the crew as they have finally realised where he is.

Spock, reluctantly, moves across the room towards Nurse Chapel. She is still staring down at the box in her hands, and seems too embarrassed to raise her eyes upwards but does so when she spots a pair of black shoes in front of her. She looks up and sees Spock staring down at her, one eyebrow raised slightly in question. "Here", she pushed the box towards his chest "I got this for you... Merry Christmas, Spock".

Spock takes the box from her hands and says "I cannot accept this". This causes Nurse Chapel to look up, startled, and exclaim "but... why? You haven't even opened it yet, how can you know if you like it or not?"

"It is not a question of whether or not the gift pleases me. I am aware of the custom of gift-giving at this time and that it is a requisite that one is supposed to purchase a gift for an individual who purchases a gift for you. I have not purchased a gift for you, as I do not typically celebrate these traditions, and that is why I cannot accept this." He pushes the gift back towards her but she holds her hands palms-up, and says "I do not require you to purchase a gift for me in return! I bought it for you because I wished to do so. Please, keep it."

"As you wish" replies Spock as he starts to turn around and head back to where he was. "Wait!"

He turns back around to look at her enquiringly. "Aren't' you going to open it?" she enquires hesitantly.

He glances back down to the box in his hands, and notices a label he had not noticed before. It reads simply: Dear Spock, I know you do not celebrate Christmas, but I would wish that you have a pleasant day all the same. With Love, Christine.

"Is that a requirement also?" he looks back at her. She nods at him. "Very well."

He meticulously and carefully peels the wrapping away from the gift to reveal the full published works of Shakespeare.

"I know that you have an interest in Terran literature and poetry. I hoped maybe that you didn't already own these." She wrings her hands anxiously and does not meet his eyes.

"I do not," he does not look up from his present. "... Thank you"

Nurse Chapel looks up at him with a radiant smile on her face "Oh, you are welcome Mr. Spock! I am so glad it pleases you."

He inclines his head at her, and moves back to take his spot on the outside of the circle, the officers once again parting to let him through. "Wait!"

He turns around again, and looks this time at Captain Kirk who had yelled out to him. The Captain is grinning sheepishly at him. "I... um, have a gift for you too."

"I see" Spock remains where he is as he watches Jim walk over to the gifts and then come over towards him holding a small square box with red wrapping paper and a gold bow on top.

"Merry Christmas Spock, I know you don't celebrate it but I wanted to get something for you. It's a tradition. I always get my closest friends a gift. You... don't have to get me anything either. Frankly, I'd have been quite surprised if you had!" he chuckles at Spock good-naturedly and hands him the small box.

This time Spock does not need prompting as he knows he is supposed to open the gift in the Captain's presence. He once again carefully removes the bow and the wrapping paper to reveal a simple cardboard box. He opens the top of the box and reaches in to pull out the item within. He hears a loud laugh coming from the crows, which sounded suspiciously like Bones, as he reveals the item that had been inside the box. It is a square shaped object, much like the box that had contained it. It itself is covered in coloured squares.

Spock looks up at Kirk, an eyebrow raised in question. Kirk beams at him and proudly exclaims "It's a rubix cube!"

This clarifies nothing for Spock as he has never heard of such an item before.

This doesn't seem to deter the Captain in any way as he proceeds to explain to Spock that it is a human toy, based on logic. He explains to him that to solve the puzzle he has to move the sections of the cube around until each side is only one colour.

"Fascinating" replies Spock staring down at the cube in his hands, and moving the sections once he realised that they can in fact move.

"See, I thought you might enjoy it because it's logical but it's of Terran origin! They first made these puzzles way back in the 21st century" says Kirk proudly, pleased that his friend seems to find his gift entertaining at least.


	4. Chapter 4

_Somewhere in Shi'Kahr, Vulcan (25__th__ December 2236):_

The three family members are sitting around their dining table having a traditional Christmas meal that Amanda had earlier programmed into the replicator. Sarek is sitting at the head of the table, Amanda to his left, and Spock to his right. Spock is sportingly wearing a red paper crown on his head, much to his mother's obvious delight. Sarek had politely declined to wear a similar hat, although Amanda is wearing a green one herself.

There is some faint Christmas music playing in the background courtesy of the computer. Amanda had carefully selected a playlist of songs that both her husband and son would not find detestable, so nothing like 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' or anything of that ilk.

After they have finished eating their meal Amanda declares that it is time to distribute the Christmas gifts and so the three of them move over towards the tree and settle around it. She kneels down by the base of the tree and grabs a large-ish rectangular box that is on top of the pile. Standing back up she turns around to face her son and hands the present to him, wishing him a Merry Christmas as she does so.

Spock gazes curiously down at the present in his hands, it is wrapped in colourful paper of red and green and gold, with tiny snowflakes in silver dotted around it. "Well don't just look at it!" says Amanda, causing Spock to look back up at her, "Open it!"

He carefully opens the wrapping paper so as not to rip it, much to his mother's amused frustration, and reveals a beautiful chess board within it. It appears to be made of marble, and upon opening the coverings at each side of the board Spock locates the chess pieces within. They are also made of marble and have been carved with great attention to detail.

He examines one of the Queens and informs his mother that he is quite pleased with her gift at which she smiles at him happily. She then turns to face her husband and declares that she has something for him too, and after rummaging around in back of the pile she brings out a tall, rectangle shaped box. This one is covered in mostly silver wrapping paper with a gold bow around it. "Merry Christmas my husband" she says as she hands it to him.

Upon opening the box Sarek finds a bottle of expensive Vulcan wine, and he thanks her politely for this gift and invites her to share a glass with him later to which she gladly accepts. He then asks to be excused momentarily and exits the room, leaving Amanda with her son who is still examining the chess pieces.

Whilst Sarek is gone Amanda helps Spock to clear some room for the chess board, with the suggestion that they can play a few games together, and when Sarek returns he finds them sitting at the table with the chess board between them. They had opted to wait for his return before starting the game however.

In his hands Sarek holds a small gift-wrapped package, much to Amanda's surprise as she had not expected him to participate in the festivities so directly. "Where have you been hiding that?" she laughingly inquires of him as he reaches them at the table. "Ah, excellent" he replies "I had hoped that you had not accidently stumbled upon it before this day" he does not answer her question, but instead hands the gift to her.

Amanda takes a moment to study it, going against her incessant curiosity, before she opens it. Sarek has wrapped the gift in plain gold wrapping paper with a silver bow around it, much like her own gift to him she thinks amused at the comparison. He has not placed any label upon his however.

She quickly rips the paper away, causing both Vulcans in the room to look on in slight alarm, and reveals a small velvet box within. Upon opening the box she gasps as she sees a beautiful silver necklace within, with matching earrings. She is delighted at the unexpected gift and tells him so.

"I had hoped the gift would please you" he informs her "I thought you would find it aesthetically pleasing. I had gathered from the customs of this time that it would have been more than likely that you would have purchased a gift for me, and I did not wish to disappoint you by not returning the gesture."

She thanks him profusely for the gift, although she explains that she would not have been disappointed had he not purchased one for her as she had not been expecting him to follow customs that he did not usually follow.

Spock also seems surprised by his father's actions and decides that if his father can find logic in the situation then so can he and he will celebrate Christmas each year for his mother, as it does seem to please her so. He only wished that he had thought to purchase a gift for her too, but there was always next year.


	5. Chapter 5

You will probably recognise the episode reference. I'm basing the main confrontation scenes around the episode "Day of the Dove". A lot of the dialogue from the beginning of the episode will be in an upcoming chapter.

Sorry about the delay. I've started working full time again. Also I have passed the deadline to submit this story so I'm trying to rush it out now. The final editing will be minimal at best. If you spot errors, please feel free to point them out.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant (24_ _th_ _December 2267):_

Kirk is sitting at a table with Bones, Uhura, and Chekov when Spock comes over to stand by his side. They are talking amongst themselves amiably, but Kirk turns around to face Spock when he senses his presence approaching them.

"Captain, I have some done some research on this so-called 'Rubix Cube' and have discovered that you were incorrect." Spock stands, his back straight and his arms folded behind him, as he looks down at his Captain. He left the 'Rubix Cube' behind in his quarters, where he has just come from and where he had quickly carried out an impromptu research session on the object.

"Oh?" inquires Kirk somehow managing to sound both amused and frustrated, something that he has found himself feeling quite often ever since he met Spock.

"Indeed, you stated that the Rubix Cube was invented in the 21st Century on Earth when it was actually invented in the middle-to-late 20th Century - more specfically 1974 by a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture called Ernő Rubik, followed by the inventions of the Rubik's rectangle Rubik's pyramid and so forth."

"Right..." Kirk has a smile on his face that doesn't quite reach his eyes and his voice is a bit strained as he replies to Spock "You're right, I was wrong. I didn't know that it was invented that early. I'm sorry."

Spock inclines his head at the Captain and does not seem to realise the Captain's mood as he continues speaking.

"There's no need for apologies Captain, I just thought that you would be interested to learn the history behind your Christmas gift to me."

Kirk appears to relax slightly, and replies in a friendlier tone of voice.

"I am interested Spock, yes, thank you for looking up the information for me".

"You are welcome, Captain."

Kirk lets out a deep sigh. "How many times must we go over this? It's Jim. Jim!"

"Very well, Captain"

"Bridge to Captain Kirk" is heard coming over the intercom just at that moment and the Captain walks over to the wall to answer it, excusing himself from the conversation with Spock.

"Kirk here, what is it?" he leans against the wall of the ship next to the intercom panel, and attempts not to notice the officers nearby completing failing at looking inconspicuous whilst they listened in.

"Captain I have picked up a distress call originating from a nearby planet." comes the voice of an ensign that was stationed at the bridge whilst the majority were at the party.

Kirk sighs "On my way ." The Captain closes the connection and turns back to face the mess hall, again ignoring the officers who quickly look away, and signals to Spock that he should follow him. The two leave the mess hall and make their way through the ship and towards the bridge.

In the turbo lift Kirk turns to Spock and explains that the ensign had informed him that they have received a distress call from a nearby planet and they are on their way to the bridge to listen to the distress call and to determine if they can be of assistance.

Upon arriving at the bridge the Captain orders the ensign McLean to play the message. It is a simple distress call originating from a human colony settled nearby to the Enterprises current location, on a planet called Beta XII-A. Kirk immediately orders that they plot a course for Beta XII-A at warp speed. He then opens a communications channel to all decks of the ship. "Notify all hands back to station."

Before long Uhura and Chekov are back on the bridge, and the Doctor is back in the sick bay. Scotty was already at his post when the yellow alert started and therefore he didn't have to go anywhere. The ship soon settles back into its usual habits as they make their way to the planet.

They would arrive at Beta XII-A in approximately one hour.

_Somewhere in Shi'Kahr, Vulcan (circa 2237):_

It has been exactly one year since young Spock celebrated his first Christmas with his mother and father. In that one year many things have changed in his life; Spock is now seven years of age and has since been betrothed to T'Pring in accordance with traditional Vulcan marriage procedure; and suddenly (and against his parents' wishes) Spock decided to undertake the kahs-wan maturity trial in the Vulcan wilderness in an attempt to prove himself as a worthy Vulcan, not one addled by his human heritage as the other Vulcan children had treated him as.

Going against his decision from last year he has also decided that he will no longer be celebrating Christmas with his mother as he is "not a human and as such I have no desire to partake in their illogical customs". His words had greatly upset his Mother upon hearing them, and their relationship has been strained ever since.

Spock stands now, in the middle of the Vulcan wilderness, alone except for his pet sehlat I-Chaya who had tagged along against his master's wishes, and has since defended Spock from the attack of a carnivorous, venomous le-matya. The le-matya almost took the life of Spock's loyal companion were it not for the sudden appearance of an older cousin of Spocks who saved them. I-Chaya was left badly wounded however.

Spock is now faced with the stark choice of a painfully extended life or a peaceful release for I-Chaya. Logic tells him that it would be better for I-Chaya to die now, than to live on in pain. However his heart aches with the last shred of his humanity as he contemplates doing what his mind is telling him to do.

He decides that he must consider the situation with pure logic, and cannot be swayed by sentimentality. That decision marked his choice of following in the philosophies of Surak: logic and emotional control.


	6. Chapter 6

_On the planet Beta XII-A, (24__th__ December 2267)_

Kirk, Bones, Chekov and Lieutenant Johnson materialize onto the surface of Beta XII-A. It appears to be a desert-like land with little vegetation. The air is hot and stuffy, and they can see no signs of life anywhere. The landing party are all holding their phasers aloft as they appear, as they were unsure what might be awaiting them on the planet's surface.

Kirk turns to Chekov and demands "Report Mr. Chekov".

Chekov takes out his tricorder and starts scanning the area around them. "Full scan. Results negative. Radiation level normal. Atmosphere and terrain are undisturbed. No evidence of a colony nor any residual after-effect of a force that might have annihilated it."

Kirk now turns to face Dr McCoy. "Life readings, Dr. McCoy?"

The Doctor also scans the area around them." Nothing. You said they were being attacked by an unidentified ship? "

"Which we were unable to detect upon approach. " buts in Chekov.

In the background a floating, translucent, red orb is coming towards them. They do not notice its approach.

Kirk stares at the empty land around them. "An entire human colony... " he kneels down and touches the ground, running the sand through his fingers "A whole settlement." he raises his voice in anger "One hundred men, women, and children!" he lowers his voice and seems to beg of the air around them "Who did it? And why?"

Just at that moment the Captains communicator beeps and Kirk answers it.

"Kirk here."

"Spock here Captain. Sensors have picked up a Klingon ship closing fast."

Kirk immediately replies "Deflectors up, condition red, protect yourselves. Total reply if attacked." he pauses and some of his confusion seems to be clearing "So that's the answer... Klingons."

At that moment, very near to the landing party's location, the Klingons beam down to the surface.

Spocks voice comes over the communicator again "Captain, the enemy ship is drifting. Totally disabled. And we never fired upon her. "

Kirk replies, confused "Maintain red alert".

At this point the landing part notices the incoming Klingons. The Klingon leader walks directly over to Kirk and strikes him across the face. Kirk falls down to the ground and stares up at the Klingon in shock and anger.

The Klingon who attacked Kirk speaks up, his voice raised and furious. "You attacked my ship! 400 of my crew: Dead! Kirk, my ship is disabled. I claim yours. You are now prisoners of the Klingon Empire against which you have committed a wanton act of War!"

The Klingons surround the rest of the landing party and disarm them. Kirk stands up from the ground and faces the Klingon leader.

"Three years the Federation and the Klingon Empire has been at peace. A treaty we have honoured to the letter..."

Before the Klingon can finish his sentence Captain Kirk interrupts him and forcefully demands that the Enterprise was not the one that fired upon the Klingon ship.

"Were the screams of my crew imaginary? What were your orders Kirk? To start a War? You've succeeded! Test a new weapon? We shall be happy to examine it. "

" There was a Federation colony on this planet. It was destroyed!" Kirk gestures at the empty land all around them emphatically.

" By what?! No Bodies! No ruins! A colony of the invisible?" the Klingon sneers at Kirk, mocking him for trying to fool them with such a flawed ploy as that. How could this human, who has caused such pain this day, dare to suggest that they are the victims here.

" ... yes. A test of a new Klingon weapon, leaving no traces. Federation ships don't specialise in sneak attacks! "

The Klingon leader walks off slightly, and then returns and speaks in a lower, more subdued voice.

"We have wondered when you would begin. Lured my ship into ambush with a false Klingon distress call. You will tell us why with the proper persuasion!"

" _You_ received a distress call?! _We_ received a distress call!"

" I don't propose to spend the rest of my life on this ball of dust arguing your _fantasies! _The Enterprise is mine!"

He hands a communicator to Kirk.

"Instruct your transporter team to beam us aboard. "

Kirk glances down at the communicator between them and then glares back at the Klingon. "... Go to the Devil."

" We have no Devil, Kirk... but we understand the habits of yours. "

The two Captains stare at each other across the desert landscape. Behind them both landing parties watch them silently, the humans still surrounded by the armed Klingons. Both Captains seem to have come to similar conclusions, that the other is responsible for the deaths of many of his kin.

The Klingon leader once again hands the communicator to Kirk, shoving it at his chest. Kirk grabs it and the Klingon steps back, watching him silently.

Captain Kirk looks down at the communicator in his hands, then back to the Klingon leader, and then over to his landing party. He seems to be coming to some sort of a decision.

Impatient, the Klingon leader call out. "_Now_ Kirk, or I shall be forced to hurt your companions until you cooperate."

Kirk flips open the communicator.

Chekov rushes forward at this but is held back by two Klingons, each holding on to one of his arms. "Captain, you can't! Don't let these animals take the ship!"

Chekov had recognised who the Klingon leader is. His name is Commander Kang and e was the one who had been responsible for his brother Piotrs, death many years ago on Archanis IV.

Kang takes out a small device and walks over to Chekov and places it on his face. Chekov screams out in pure agony.

"Stop it!" yells Kirk, "I'll do as you say, just stop this!"

Kang removes the device, and turns to face Kirk expectantly.

Kirk switches the communicator back on again "Kirk to the Enterprise...Mr Spock"

"Here Captain"

" Mr Spock we have guests. Adjust the transporter to wide field. Beam up... everyone on the target area."

Unbeknownst to the Klingons Kirk presses a 'distress button' on the communicator which sends a yellow alert to the command chair where Spock is currently at.

"Understood Captain"

As the humans and the Klingons dematerialise from the planet's surface no one notices the strange red orb join them in the transporter beam.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, above Beta XII-A, __(24__th__ December 2267)_

"Kirk to the Enterprise...Mr Spock"

Spock is seated in the Captain's chair on the bridge of the Enterprise when he hears the Captain's voice coming over the communications system.

He opens the return channel.

"Here Captain"

" Mr Spock we have guests. Adjust the transporter to wide field. Beam up... everyone on the target area."

At this point a yellow light starts flashing on the screen in front of Spock, causing one of his eyebrows to rise in alarm. This is the distress signal pre-programmed into the communicators to alert the ship of danger when the individual could not communicate it.

"Understood Captain"

He closes the channel, and then opens one to the transporter room.

"Transporter room. Prepare to beam up the landing party, they are being accompanied by... guests. These guests are to be suspended in the pattern buffer until the landing party is safely aboard at which point the guests are to be arrested and taken to the brig."

"Understood Mr. Spock." comes Scotty's voice from the transporter room.

Spock leaves the bridge and makes his way to the transporter room.

All four members of the landing party materialize in the transporter room and step off the transporter stands. Spock and Scotty greet them by the console.

Kirk immediately gives an order to Lieutenant Johnson "Call security Johnson, on the double".

He then turns to Spock "Good work Spock"

Bones asks Spock what happened to the Klingons that were beamed up with them.

"Our landing party is intact, doctor " and Scotty proudly interrupts with "All other suspended in transit. Who are the guests by the way?"

"Klingons" replies Kirk, relaxing now that the danger seems to be over. The security teams will deal with the Klingons and they will be harmless once they are in the brig.

"Well they're right in here" Scotty gestures to the console of the transporter room.

Johnson re-appears at that moment. "Security men are on their way, sir."

Chekov, still angry at the Klingons, chooses this moment to offer his advice. "Captain, leave them where they are, non-existence. That's so many less Klingon monsters in the galaxy."

The security personnel arrive through the doors into the transporter room at that moment, and immediately stand by the transporter stands with their phasers pointing in that direction awaiting the prisoners.

Kirk tells Scotty to bring them aboard. Everyone in the transporter room turns to face the transporter stands as the Klingons materialise onto the ship, with their backs towards the Enterprise crew so as to momentarily confuse them and allow the security officers time to incapacitate them.

As the Klingons are marched out of the transporter room Kirk addresses Commander Kang.

"You're a prisoner of the Federation of Planets against which you may or may not have committed an act of war."

Kang does not seem intimidated. "There are still survivors aboard my ship"

Scotty interrupts and informs the Captain that he is not able to contact Starfleet Command because all the subspace frequencies have been blocked and the Klingon ship is emitting a lot of radiation which is affecting the ship's systems. Kirk orders that the ship is destroyed .

"Completing the job you started?"

"You wouldn't be standing here if I had."

Spock walks up to them at that moment and stands next to the Captain. "The first of the survivors are beaming aboard now"

Kang, startled, turns to face the transporter pads as he hears the sounds of people materializing. He is surprised to see members of his own crew being transported aboard. Kirk had ordered that the survivors be taken prisoner also, before the ship is destroyed. One of the female Klingons ruses towards Kang, and he introduces her as his wife and Science Officer, Mara. She demands that he explain what has happened.

"More Federation treachery. We are prisoners."

"What will they do to us? I've heard of their atrocities, their death camps. They will torture us for our scientific and military information!"

Kang and Mara turn to face Kirk as he speaks up "Apparently you have a few things to learn about us."

He addresses the security officers that are waiting nearby "Contain them in the crew lounge. Programme the food synthesiser to accommodate our guests. You'll be well treated, Kang."

"So I have seen." The two are led out by the security officers.

Kirk informs Spock to cancel the red alert and they, along with Chekov and Bones, leave the transporter room. "But maintain general quarters, scan this sector for other ships. Run a full check on the colony, I want this thing nailed down fast."

"We know what happened, a distress call!" The three of them turn around to face Chekov who spoke. His face displays his remaining anger for their Klingon guests and his distrust of them. He remains convinced that they are responsible for the deaths of the colonists, just like they were responsible for the death of his brother.

Spock contemplates his words. "The moment we received the distress signal from the colony on Beta 12A, the Klingons were too far distant to have been the attackers. Moreover, they also were apparently attracted by a distress call."

As the four of them make their way along the corridor they are completely unaware of the floating red orb that follows them, and then disappears round a corner as they entire the turbolift.

"Lies!" demands Chekov, "They want to start a war by pretending that we did."

"Chekov may be right" agrees Bones, clasping his hands behind his back nodding along "The Klingons claim to have honoured the truce but there have been incidents, raids on our outposts. "

"No proof that the Klingons committed it" offers Kirk, not wanting to jump to conclusions again.

Bones doesn't agree with him, "what proof do we need? We know what a Klingon is."

Kirk is uncomfortable with Chekov's and Bones' attitude towards their prisoners, Spock remains silently watching the tree of them in fascination.

The turbolift doors open and Bones walks out without another word.

"Our log tapes will indicate our innocence in the present situation" says Spock.

Kirk inclines his head in agreement with his words but has to offer that the tapes might not be accepted as proof by the Klingons. It is possible to falsify data after all.

The turbolift doors open again and the remaining three of them step out onto the bridge. They immediately head to their respective posts and Kirk asks Uhura for a report as he passes her. She informs him that they are still unable to reach Starfleet Command.

"Keep trying, we've got a diplomatic tiger by the tail"

"Transporter room to Bridge. Klingon vessel has vacated, sir."

"Very good, Scotty." Kirk closes the hailing channel. " Mr Sulu?"

"Phasers locked and ready to fire, sir."

"Fire phasers"

It takes but a moment for the empty Klingon vessel to be destroyed.

Spock looks up from where he was bending down looking through the scanner at his station.

"Sensor sweeps reveal no other ships within range, Captain."

"Mr. Sulu, change course to 17, mark 4, warp factor 3."

At this moment the red orb is still making its way around the Enterprise undetected. It passes by the location where the Klingon prisoners are being held.

"When I take this ship, I'll have Kirk's head stuffed and hung on his cabin wall." Kang paces up and down amongst his crew members, his wife watching his movements.

"They will kill us before we can act." replies Mara, her voice lowered as she fears the security guards will hear them.

"No" Kang does not lower his voice. "They wish to question us, learn our strength, our plans. They never will."

"We are 40 against 400" she reminds him.

The atmosphere in the room is a highly tense and violent one as the Klingons wish for their chance at revenge.

The red orb reaches the bridge and becomes invisible.

Uhura calls the captain over to her station, a slight panic in her voice. She gestures in frustration at the screen. "This doesn't make sense! Carriers are normal, channels are open, and still no outside contact!" She pulls the earpiece out, and the Captain places a hand on the back of her chair and leans down to look at the screen. "I don't understand it, sir! Could the Klingons be doing something?"

Suddenly the entire ship shakes violently, almost knocking the Captain over. He quickly makes his way over the Sulu, grasping onto the furniture along the way for balance. Sulu informs him that the ship has changed in course and accelerated, and that the helm is unresponsive.

"Override" demands Kirk.

"Nothing responds, Captain."

The ship continues on its course and continues to shake violently.

Kirk falls back into his chair and opens a channel to the engine room as he stares at the display of the ship showing the stars disappearing past them as the ship moves rapidly through space.

"Scotty, stop all engines."

"I would if I could, sir... but my controls have gone crazy. Something's taken over."

"Scotty!"

"The engines, sir, they've gone to warp nine! By themselves."

Kirk closes the channel. "New course?"

"Nine-oh-two, mark 5" replies Sulu.

Kirk sits up straight in his chair in alarm. "That'll take us out of the galaxy."


	8. Chapter 8

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, above Beta XII-A, (24__th__ December 2267)_

Inside the room where the Klingons are being held weapons miraculously appear before the stunned prisoners. The guards, startled by the noise in the room behind them, turn around to the sight of the Klingons pointing phasers at them.

Lieutenant Johnson orders that the guards retreat, but before they call all escape he is hit by powerful phaser blast and severely injured. Two of the security guards fire at the Klingon who shot him, and together they drag Lieutenant Johnson towards the turbolift that the other guards escaped to.

The Klingons start cheering at their sudden freedom and revenge, waving their weapons in the air in triumph. Commander Kang orders half of his men to make their way down towards Engineering, whilst the other half are to follow Kang towards the Bridge and, subsequently, its Captain.

Back on the Bridge Captain Kirk receives a distressed call from the new acting head of security informing him that the Klingons have escaped, and are armed. Kirk immediately issues a red alert and informs the officers on the bridge that the Klingons must not discover that they are currently running a skeleton crew as they are currently evenly matches in numbers.

Chekov and Bones continue to make prejudiced comments about the Klingons on board, and suggest that they should have been killed with their ship instead of being beamed aboard. Chekov once again brings up the unjust death of his brother. The Captain is suitably shocked and appalled at their behaviour. They get increasingly more aggressive and then they both leave to find Klingons to attack. The Captain tries to stop them but they pull their phasers out and threaten to attack if he does not stand down. He lets them leave.

"Captain" Kirk turns towards his science officer to see what he wants, "Chekov does not have a brother"

"What?"

"Chekov mentioned that Commander Kang was responsible for the death of his brother, but I have seen Chekov's records and nowhere does it state that he has, or has ever had, a brother."

"Then why is he saying that Kang killed his brother? For what purpose?"

"I think the question we should be asking Captain is where those weapons came from. The Klingons do not have the required technology or knowledge to create fully-functioning weapons out of nothing… instantaneously."

He asks Spock to scan for life forms on board so they can have exact figures of how many Klingons are onboard.

"Scans indicate that our forces and those of the Klingons are exactly equal at 38 each."

"Constant surveillance, Mr Spock."

"Most curious, Captain." Continues Spock after a pause.

"What?"

"There appear to be more life energy units on board than can be accounted for by the presence of the Enterprise crew plus the Klingons. A considerable discrepancy. "

"Could more Klingons have beamed aboard?"

"I shall attempt a compensatory reading of Klingon units." He turns towards his console and starts scanning the ship using the instruments available to him. "No additional Klingons detected, Captain. It is an alien life force, a single entity. I cannot ascertain its location."

"... an alien life force. We must make contact, find out what it wants."

Meanwhile half of the Klingons have reached the Engineering room and attacked the Starfleet officers within who have had to retreat. Scotty is angrily making his way towards the Bridge to inform the Captain when suddenly the ship goes dark and the emergency lights come on. The Klingons have turned off the life support systems.

Scotty reaches the Bridge, where the power is also off, and demands that the Captain do something about the Klingons on board. He shares similar sentiments to Chekov and Bones in that the Klingons should die and that the Captain had made an error in beaming them aboard instead of destroying them with their ship. He is gesticulating widly in his fury and alarming the other officers. Spock moves towards him and places his hands upon Scotty's arms in an attempt to calm him. Scotty reacts violently and yells at Spock.

"Keep your Vulcan hands off me! Just keep away. Your feelings might be hurt, you green-blooded half-breed." He snarls at Spock, who steps back from him and raises an eyebrow in alarm.

"May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with Humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant." Spock's voice has an uncharacteristic chill to it as he replies to Scotty's insults.

"Then transfer out, freak."

Scotty and Spock go to attack each other but before they can reach each other Kirk steps between them. Spock goes to strike him and Kirk becomes angry and says "Stop it, you half-human..." then he gets a peculiar looks on his face as he seems to realise what he had been about to say.

"What are we saying? What are we doing to each other?"

"Fascinating" deadpans Spock.

Kirk realises that everything that has happened to this point is like someone is trying to instigate a war between them and the Klingons.

"Two forces aboard this ship, each of them equally armed. Has a War been staged for us? Complete with weapons, and ideology, and patriotic drum-beating? Even... Spock" he places his hands on his shoulders as if embracing him. "Even race hatred?"

"Recent events would seem to be directed toward a magnification of the basic hostilities between humans and Klingons. Apparently, it is by design that we fight. We seem to be pawns" "

But what's the game? And whose? And what are the rules?"

Suddenly at that moment the lights onboard miraculously come back on. Spock turns to his controls and announces that life support has been restored and the other systems have been restored, Spock takes this opportunity to scan for the location of the alien entity which he then reports as being in engineering.

The Captain immediately suggests that he and Spock make their way to engineering, each holding their phasers out in case they come across any Klingons on the way. The Captain also informs most of the security team to make their way there as back up for them.

They reach the section where engineering is located without coming into contact with any of the Klingons but upon approaching engineering they are ambushed by Klingons in waiting. The Starfleet security guards arrive and a vicious battle ensues between the two opposing forces.

In the midst of the battle one of the enginerring consoles is hit by many phaser blasts and Kirk, seeing this and seeing Spock standing nearby unaware of the looming danger, yells out "Spock!" and runs towards him.

Then the console explodes.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, above Beta XII-A (24th December 2267):

Spock is lying on his stomach on the floor of the Enterprise, the heavy and limp weight of Jim above him, and the sounds of phaser blasts all around them. For a moment he stalls, unsure of what to do now. In a miniscule moment of time Spock had felt Jim call out to him and desperately push him out of the way before Spock heard the explosion, and only later did he notice the weight upon his back. Why wasn't Jim moving?

Jim.

"Jim!" cries Spock as he scrambles to get out from under his friend without injuring him. Spock turns around on the floor and stares aghast at the Captain, who is not moving at all. He is lying on his side with his head resting on an outstretched arm, his other arm dangling down by his side. His eyes are shut and he could almost be mistaken for asleep were it not for the trickle of blood running down his forehead and dripping onto the floor between them.

"Doctor!" cries a frantic Spock who for once in his life is showing unabashed emotion from every part of his being; in the lines upon his face and in the very way he holds himself so still as if terrified that his very movement could make the situation even more dire.

Spock looks around at the absolute chaos around him and can see neither the Doctor nor his own tricorder anywhere in the vicinity. He is at a loss for what to do, his thoughts are muddled as if his brain is brimming with fog and his thoughts cannot permeate it.

He starts to make a mental list of what he must do; he must get the Captain to safety; he must deal with the Klingons; he must locate the alien entity and put a stop to all this.

Out of the corner of his eye Spock sees three Kligons approaching them, obviously noticing the injured state of the Captain and wishing ti take advantage of this opportunity. Spock grabs a discarded phaser from the floor near him and stands in front of the Captains crumpled form, blocking him with his own body from the prying eyes of the Klingons. He takes aim and fires at each of the Klingons in quick succession, taking them all out before they can retaliate.

As they fall to the ground Spock sees the alien entity on the other side of engineering. He is fascinated to note that the alien life form appears to be growing exponentially and emitting a strange red glow from within. As it floats nearer the fighting it seems to glow stronger and grow faster. Spock extrapolates from the evidence before him that the alien entity feeds on the emotions of Anger produced by others.

Spotting Mara crouching behind a console to the left of the alien Spock makes his way towards her, stopping twice to perform the Vulcan nerve pinch on two unsuspecting Klingons.

When he approaches her she holds up her phaser towards him and tells him that she will shoot if he gets any closer. He tells her that he wishes her no harm, and then points to the alien entity nearby. "Do you see that?"

"Yes... what is it?"

"It is an alien life form that I believe to be the cause of this war."

He tells Mara everything that he has learnt or seen of the alien and of the events that have transpired recently. He convinces her that it would be in everyone's best interests if they worked together to end this.

"What do we do?" she asks him.

"I have an idea that may work, but I will require your assistance".

Together they make their way over to Kang, as they approach he sees them and demands that Mara tell him what she is doing with one of the enemy. She tells him that they have something he needs to hear and gives him a summary of what Spock had told her.

Kang refuses to believe what she is saying and insinuates that the Vulcan has done something to her to make her betray him. He lunges at Spock and knocks him to the ground. The two grapple on the floor while Mara begs Kang to stop and listen.

Mara's yelling has attracted the alien entity's attention and it has made its way over to them. Kang's fury at Spock and his feelings of betrayal towards Mara cause the alien to grow ever more and glow more vibrant, emitting a strange whirring sound as it does so.

Mara yells for Spock to look at the alien. He sees it and forces Kang to look up at it also.

"Kang, I am your wife. I am a Klingon. Would I lie for them? Listen to Spock. He is telling the truth."

Kang stops fighting Spock and observes the alien entity that, sensing that they have stopped fighting, moves over towards the other fighting officers and Klingons. He sees that what Spock and Mara had told him about the entity seems true, and he reflects on recent events and the actions of both his officers and Kirk's. He finally agrees that Spock was speaking the truth.

Spock beckons Kang to come with him to stand by the communicator on a nearby wall. He informs Kang that the only way they can stop this is if they work together. Spock presses a button on the communicator and opens a channel to the Bridge. He asks Uhura to open a channel to all decks of the ship, he then orders that all Starfleet officers stand down and stop fighting. He then urges Kang to do likewise. As soon as Kang has issued the same orders over the communication channels all officers stop fighting and the ones engineering turn to look at their commanding officers.

"Look!" exclaims Mara, pointing to the alien entity. As the fighting in the room has stopped the alien appears to be growing weaker, smaller, and dimmer.

"I suggest that good spirits might make an effective weapon". Kang looks at Spock after he says this as if he is mad, but after judging the look on his face he realizes he is being quite serious.

Kang addresses the alien entity and insults and mocks it, and then laughs at it mockingly. The other Klingons and the human Starfleet officers, quickly understanding what is going on after Mara gives them a rushed explanation, soon join in. The alien entity vanishes.

Commander Kang, still laughing, slaps Spock on the back sportingly to which Spock almost topples over in surprise, causing the Klingons to laugh even more.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant (25th December 2267):

It is now the day after the events that transpired with the alien entity, and it is also Christmas Day upon the Enterprise. The ship is currently orbiting one of the planets where officers had been vacationing, and they were slowly being brought back on board.

The Klingons and most of the Humans onboard are congregates in the mess hall or in similar locations. Many of the Starfleet officers thought it would be entertaining to try and educate the Klingons in some of the human customs of this festive time. Some Klingons were even rumoured to have been spotted under the mistletoe earlier that day, but that might have just been hearsay.

The Captain is still in the sickbay but the Doctor has reported that he will make a full recovery and should be out of there by tomorrow, although he had tried to convince him to stay longer. But you can never convince the Captain to do something he really doesn't want to do. "It's Christmas!" he had begged of the Doctor beseechingly.

Unfortunately Kirk had hit his head quite badly when he was knocked over by the explosion and he has some minor memory loss to show for it. Spock is currently situated by his bedside having just given him a full report of what had transpired yesterday, both before and after the Captain's accident. He particularly enjoyed the part where everyone had laughed at the alien until it left, although seemed quite disappointed that Spock had not joined in.

Spock temporarily excused himself from the Captain's company and when he returns he is holding a small, square-shaped, and gift-wrapped box in his hands.

"What's this?" inquires Kirk intrigued at the object in his friend's hands.

"Your Christmas gift from me."

Kirk's eyebrows practically disappear into his hair line at this statement from the Vulcan.

"Spock!" he beams, "you shouldn't have!" he then proceeds to grab the item from his hands and rip the paper off quickly.

"A... rubix cube?" asks an amused Kirk. He is holding in his hands a regular Rubix Cube. It is the same gift that he gave to Spock earlier, although he does not remember this. Bones looks up from his desk at these words.

"Indeed Captain. I thought you would appreciate this. It is both of human origins and based on principles of logic."

Kirk laughs at his words and insinuates that Spock is just trying to get him to be more logical.

"But seriously Spock, thank you. I wouldn't have expected this from you. You have surprised me! Pleasantly so. I have a gift for you too... I think. I don't quite remember but I must have done."

"It is quite alright Captain... you had already presented me with your gift before your accident." Spock chooses to ignore the rather rude noise Bones makes in the background at this point.

Kirk and Spock share a few more pleasantries before Spock announces that he must return to the Bridge, as he is currently the acting Captain and it is his duty to be there. He starts to leave then, seeming to remember something, turns around and says "Merry Christmas, Jim". Kirk offers him a wide open smile in return and expresses similar sentiments.

Bones confronts him as he leaves and accuses Spock of giving the gift back Kirk.

"I thought you would have been pleased."

"Why would I have been pleased about you returning his gift back to him?"

"I had not purchased a gift for him myself as I had not had any intentions of participating in these celebrations. Now, I have presented the Captain with a Christmas gift and... wished him a Merry Christmas. Two things I am sure he was quite happy to receive. I thought you would have been pleased by this."

As he leaves the medical bay he adds "Also, it is not as if he will remember that he was the one to originally gift it. Merry Christmas, Leonard."

As he makes his way towards the Bridge Spock makes a mental note to send a communication to his Mother later. She would be very pleased to hear from her son today.


End file.
